Too many Canadians are being denied jobs, places in school or entry into the United States because police services are disclosing information they shouldn’t during criminal record checks, says a new report.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) released a report Monday which accuses police of disclosing “non-conviction” information including withdrawn charges, acquittals and complaints to police where charges were never laid.

“It is not in the interest of public safety to prevent people from accessing employment,” said Nathalie Des Rosiers, general counsel for the CCLA.

The association has advocated on behalf of people who felt their rights were violated by police during criminal record checks for years. But until recently, the group hadn’t realize the problem was on the rise.

“Eventually, it dawned on us that this was a problem that demanded systemic (approach),” said Des Rosiers. “For every caller we have, there are probably five who don’t call us.”

Des Rosiers said police services, individual laws and human rights codes vary in how they treat the checks across Canada.

“Employers will draw conclusions from that and it’s inappropriate,” she said.

In one instance, a woman applied to work as a receptionist at a school and was turned down. She had been mistakenly charged with assault during a neighbourhood dispute.

The charges were subsequently dropped, but the incident remained on her record.

Tim Smith, a spokesman for the Canadian Chiefs of Police Association, said the group had just heard of the report and would need time to review it.

Meaghan Gray, spokesman for the Toronto Police Service, said the force gives a criminal background check to a person first — never directly employer.

A person can then appeal to service’s records office to clarify any problems, she said.

Des Rosier said there may be some rare circumstances were it is in the public interest to make the non-convictions available on a check because of public safety issues. But the person in question must be afforded due process and the decision should be reviewed every five years, she said.